Revolving doors are manufactured in different sizes. The size of a revolving door may be dependent on the number of people that are expected to walk through the revolving door and the desired size to visually fit the building and/or to achieve a particular image. The size of a revolving door may also be dependent on the size of an existing revolving door to be replaced or the opening in a building or inner wall in which the revolving door is installed. In order to meet the required size each revolving door is manufactured based on the desired size in a customized fashion.
Revolving doors are in many installations automatically controlled and therefore have a drive unit including a motor and usually a gear. The drive unit may be installed above the door panels of the revolving door such as in DE 196 06 200 A1, EP 340 771 A1 and some embodiments of DE 94 21 367 U1. However, the location of the drive unit above the door panels results in an increased height of the revolving door and cover sheets or panels above the door panels are required to conceal the drive unit as seen in FIG. 1 of DE 94 21 367 U1. Cover sheets or cover panels may disturb the aesthetic appearance, in particular when the revolving door is installed in a building having a glass facade.
The drive unit may also be located in a pit in the floor as in DE 94 21 367 U1 (see e.g. FIG. 3). However, this requires extensive modification and rebuilding of the floor and may not be possible e.g. if there is a story, such as a basement, below the installation site of the revolving door.
The drive unit may also be located in a central body of the revolving door as in WO 92/08868 A1, DE 94 21 367 U1 (see e.g. FIG. 1) and DE 197 11 460 A1. However, the location in a central body results in a bulky construction that requires a large central body and thus a large revolving door with a large installation width is required or if the total width of the revolving door is limited the passage capacity is decreased. The large and bulky central body may also disturb the aesthetic appearance of the revolving door.
In DE 10 2005 030 755 A1 a drive unit is partially located in a centre pillar of the revolving door and mounted to the ceiling construction above the door panels. A bearing guiding the centre pillar is also mounted to the ceiling construction. The location of the drive unit partially above the door panels results in an increased height of the revolving door and disturbs the aesthetic appearance of the revolving door.
All the above described revolving doors according to prior art also requires extensive installation as well as comprehensive customization of the revolving door.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved revolving door.